Archive for November, 2015

NEW YORK – Nov. 28, 2015 – PRLog — Sunbury Press has released Murder in Tuxedo Park, William E. Lemanski’s first novel, set in late Victorian New York state.

The wealthy, gated community of Tuxedo Park, in upstate New York, has been home to many of America’s financial titans and social luminaries for over one hundred years. However, during the later nineteenth century, this staid, secluded enclave became the stalking-ground for one of America’s most heinous, early serial killers. The murder and mayhem continued unabated until an eccentric and brilliant young scientist and his alluring new acquaintance began their pursuit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
William E. Lemanski, a Viet Nam combat veteran, has a former engineering background in the nuclear power industry. Since retiring from both the New York Power Authority and Entergy Nuclear Northeast, he has been a freelance journalist in the Hudson Valley of New York, has held public office as a councilman and served as a police commissioner in the Town of Tuxedo, New York. When not researching new book material, he spends time traveling the world on various big-game hunting expeditions.

EXCERPT:
The long, narrow, serpentine road curved beneath the overhanging trees in dappled shadows as it wound through the quiet forest. Barely noticeable in the shadows, a large, stately mansion, will occasionally emerge, setback a distance from the road and shielded by a stone wall or iron gate or a barrier of yew. Some with sprawling gardens, others with boathouses fronting the lake and still others with courtyards and horse stables.

The imposing structures were the abodes of the rich and influential titans of Wall Street and the sporting class of the early 20th Century. The gated enclave of Tuxedo Park, nestled in the Ramapo Hills, a mere thirty miles north of Manhattan, was one of the first planned communities in the country as well as one of the most affluent. And why not, after all, the new elegant dinner jacket worn by the upper class and heads of state is named after Tuxedo. This new look in fashion occurred when the New York gossip columnists would swoon over the Hamptons in the summer along with the Autumn Ball and winter sports of Tuxedo Park as the seasons revolved. The Park was even the national epicenter of that ancient, arcane and elitist sport called court tennis, not to mention the home of some of the nation’s finest thoroughbred racehorses.

Author William Lemanski relaxes in his Tuxedo Park residence.

Originally created as a forested playground by tobacco magnate, Pierre Lorillard, the uniqueness of the Park became just as eccentric as some of its inhabitants. Aside from its thousands of acres of stonewalled seclusion, it boasted miles of electric street lighting and its own electric generating plant while over ninety-nine percent of the country still burned gas lamps. Just outside its imposing stone entry on the Post Road, a small community, actually a company town was established to house the hundreds of European laborers imported by Lorillard to build his many miles of roads and stone fencing and who also served as the maids, butlers and general staff of the Park’s inhabitants.

One of which, I became.

***

Perhaps one of its most eccentric and brilliant property owners was James I. Montague-Smith, who was referred to as Monti. His middle name was bestowed in honor of the famous British engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the brilliant and equally eccentric 19th Century character who built the Great Western Railway and the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship. Monti’s father was a British expatriate who, besides working with Brunel in the early years, became a colleague of Nicola Tesla, Edison and many other of the shining stars of 19th Century electrical science. Although also an engineer, Monti’s father focused more on the economic growth of the technology and became fabulously wealthy accruing a fortune from his many business interests.

Monti, although holding degrees in medicine and engineering, lived as a country squire and relied on his vast inheritance while spending his time dabbling in various experiments in his Tuxedo Park laboratory. Curiosity was his driving force having never found a diversion that wouldn’t interest him. His twelve-hour days were spent sequestered in his lab pursuing arcane investigations into obscure and sometimes bizarre topics. Science fiction was not his forte, but rather he questioned “by what force would a pencil drop to the floor?” And why would mass exert attraction to other mass, and just what defined the nature of one’s spirit, and so on into many of the inexplicable and esoteric phenomena of nature’s mysteries.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Tough Decisions for Young Women: How to Achieve Happiness Through the Choices You Make by Robin Reed.

Tough Decisions is a personal journey and a gradual process for young women to find themselves within these confusing times. If you are struggling toward making right decisions you will find by reading this book that ultimately learning to make wise choices will give you peace of mind. Reading through these chapters will give one a sense of accomplishment and sense of self.

Within the contents of Tough Decisions you will truly find out who you are, how to start building a life that give you ways to do this, choosing friendships that will give you positive support, developing self-respect that leads to confidence, understanding why self-respect is vital to your happiness, learning how to meet your goals without stressing out, and developing spirituality.

Tough Decisions offers awareness into the process of attaining personal growth through stories, choosing fun activities outside of school, accounts of young women nationally as well as international, insight into the value of children’s stories, and why emotional maturity will lead to better decisions toward partner commitments and relationships.

Contents:

Making Healthy Choices Toward Maintaining Self-Esteem

Exercising the Power of Personal Introspection

Getting Support: Making Friends

Meeting Your Goals and Making Decisions

Recognizing and Respecting the Growth of Love

Your Acknowledging/Recognizing/Respecting Spirituality

Overcoming Obstacles

Pulling It All Together

About the Author:Robin is compassionate for animal rights, believes in living a healthy lifestyle, and enjoys tennis. She travelled throughout her life as well as schooling and living abroad. Robin has been working with young women most of her life in the teaching profession, a volunteer mentor for young women, a counselor, workshop presenter, as well as speaking to groups in various institutions.

Robin received a B.S. from Boston University at the School of Public Relations and Communication. She also has an A.A. Degree from the Miami International University of Art & Design.

Endorsed by:

Larry Dossey, MD — Author of nine books, Diplomat, American Board of Internal Medicine. Advisory positions on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Task Force on Health Reform, the Section on Alternative Medicine of the British Parliament, and lectured at major medical schools and hospitals such as Harvard, John Hopkins, Cornell, California, Texas, Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic.

David McNally — International business speaker, author of Even Eagles Need a Push, Learning to Soar in a Changing World, The Eagles Secret, and Success Strategies for thriving at Work and in Life. Award winning Producer of The Power of Purpose and If I Were Brave. David was elected in the prestigious Speaker hall of Fame.

Tough Decisions for Young Women: How to Achieve Happiness Through the Choices You Make

At a time when women rarely went into business for themselves, Mary Sachs, an immigrant from a poor family with little formal education, became perhaps the most successful entrepreneur in her adopted city of Harrisburg, Pa., and beyond. She opened her first retail store in Harrisburg, selling upscale women’s clothing in 1918, but expanded it to include several departments. Stores in Lancaster and Reading followed. Known as the “Merchant Princess,” she revolutionized retailing, by setting customers up in individual booths and bringing clothes to them.

But Sachs also won accolades for her charitable works, earning a second moniker as the “Princess of Philanthropy.” She was most active in the Jewish Community Center of Harrisburg and other Jewish organizations but donated ecumenically to serve many causes. Eleanor Roosevelt, a personal friend, declared that “few can ever match” her generosity.

CARLISLE, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Darkness at First Light, J M West’s third novel in the Carlisle Crime Cases series.

In Darkness at First Light, Carlisle Homicide Detectives Christopher Snow and Erin ‘Mac’ McCoy discover an unidentified body, dressed like Molly Pitcher’s statue, lashed to the cannon in front of the folk hero’s gravesite. While at the macabre scene, Mac receives a call from Chief March assigning her and K-9 Officer Shadow to an Amber Alert kidnapping. In the process, the CPD IT guru discovers the girl online on a pay-for-porn site, which brings the FBI on board. The trail leads to the Revolutionary War reenactors’ encampment at Valley Forge. As the detectives track ‘Molly Pitcher’s’ elusive killer and Emma’s obsessed kidnapper, the media dog their movements to get the scoop on the sensational trial that follows.

When Mac receives enigmatic, threatening jingles, she risks her life on a solo investigation. As a result, sparks fly as tempers flare at CPD. As the pressure builds, the danger increases! Can Snow and McCoy’s marriage endure the stress of double cases and an infant at home? Can the detectives corral the criminals before they destroy more lives?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Darkness at First Light is the third in the Carlisle Crime Casesseries of murder mysteries featuring Homicide detectives Christopher Snow and Erin McCoy by Jody McGibney West, pseudonym for Joan M. West, Professor Emerita of English Studies at Harrisburg Area Community College, The Gettysburg Campus. She also taught at Messiah College and Shippensburg University as an adjunct and served as Assistant Director of the Learning Center (SU). She is a member of Sisters in Crime. She has previously published poetry and Glory in the Flower,her debut novel. It depicts four coeds who meet during the turbulent sixties.

She and her husband live near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They have two sons and two grandsons. In her spare time, West volunteers at the Bookery—Bosler Memorial Library’s used bookstore, participates in the Litwits Book group, and reads voraciously.

EXCERPT:
Death casts a pall of absolute darkness—solid and devoid of sense or sensation, a psyche or any other living trait, a shock nearly beyond human comprehension—and certainly far from the realm of daily conversation—unless it’s somebody else’s. But the abandoned shell tells much, as Dr. Haili Chen, Cumberland County coroner and Fire Marshal Lane Rusk hovered, waiting for a scrim of light to illume the stark scene before them. Rusk’s assistant, Russell Garrett, lumbered among crowded markers carrying a tripod and camera, kicking clumps of dirty snow from his path.

Approaching sirens howled in the distance.

A female corpse dressed in eighteenth-century garb, skirt and legs partially burned, was lashed to the cannon in front of Molly Pitcher’s monument in the Old Carlisle Cemetery enclosed by a limestone wall at the corner of South Bedford and East South Street. In the east, a dove grey ribbon of light exposed a disturbing scene.

The previous night’s downpour had swept the victim’s cap to the ground, freeing limp, mouse-brown curls that hugged the cannon. Eyes—wide pools matching the gray sky—gazed into the void, her face a mask of surprise and terror. Fine crow’s feet, a mole beside her left eyebrow and a wide mouth pulled in a death grimace. A stout, stumpy handle protruded from her chest. Beneath the barrel, her legs and hands were lashed together.

Rusk circled the corpse, examining the scene with a perplexed frown, heavy eyebrows drawn; his mustache quivered as he nosed the charred shreds of burned cloth, bodily fluids and decaying flesh. He scraped a sample from the leg and cut a scrap of the skirt to test. The woman had a decent build, as the wet, coarse homespun clung to her body; she wore no underwear.

“Where’s Detective Snow?” he inquired of Dr. Chen to break the dreadful silence where winter ruled, despite the calendar marking March. A silent cloak of white fog hovered where sounds echoed eerily. Chills shimmied through Rusk’s open coat; he shivered and zipped it.

“On his way.” She consulted her watch, set her leather bag on a nearby stone marker, with an apology to the deceased. She unsnapped it and extracted her thermometer from the inside flap where each sterile instrument was tucked into its own pocket.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for October, 2015. Kyle Alexander Romine took the top spot with his horror thriller “The Keeper of the Crows.” Darla Henry’s “3-5-7 Model Workbook” was the top nonfiction title in the #2 spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for October, 2015 (by Revenue)

Rank

Last Month

Title

Author

Category

1

NEW

The Keeper of the Crows

Kyle Alexander Romines

Thriller Fiction

2

—

The 3-5-7 Model Workbook

Darla Henry

Counseling

3

22

The Bronze Dagger

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

4

—

The Bipolar Millionaire and the Operation

John E Wade II

Memoir

5

7

The Alabaster Jar

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

6

4

Capital Murder

Chris Papst

Investigation

7

—

Rising Hope

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

8

8

The Segregated Georgia School for the Deaf

Ron Knorr & Clemmie Whatley

History

9

—

The Lurking Man

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

10

NEW

Blue Lines Up In Arms

James Craig Atchison

Detective Fiction

11

15

The Wolf of Britannia Part I

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

12

NEW

The Devil Tree II: The Calling

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

13

28

Jesus the Phoenician

Karim El Koussa

Religious History

14

16

The B Team

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

15

—

The Devil’s Grasp

Brian Koscienski & Chris Pisano

Fantasy Fiction

16

—

The Sinful Man

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

17

—

A Pennsylvania Mennonite and the California Gold Rush

Lawrence Knorr

History

18

2

The 3-5-7 Model

Darla Henry

Counseling

19

—

Solomon Screech Owl Goes to the Galapagos

Beth Lancione & Kathy Haney

Childrens

20

—

Solomon Screech Owl’s First Flight

Beth Lancione & Kathy Haney

Childrens

21

18

Winter of the Metal People

Dennis Herrick

Historical Fiction

22

30

Pit Bulls

Anthony Julian

History

23

NEW

White River Monster

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

24

—

Freemasons at Gettysburg

Sheldon Munn

History

25

29

Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last

Mike Campbell

History

26

—

The Cursed Man

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

27

—

The Devil Tree

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

28

—

Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks

John Moore

History

29

—

The View from Four Foot Two

Judi Markowitz

Medical Memoir

30

20

That Night at Surigao

Ernie Marshall

History

Sunbury Press had a record October, topping October 2014 by 32%. Year-to-date sales are up 83% year-over-year.

Kyle Alexander Romine’s “The Keeper of the Crows” started strong out of the gate thanks to seasonal interest and author activities. Darla Henry’s “The 3-5-7 Model Workbook” placed due to orders for conferences in Canada. The 3-5-7 guidebook was also on the list at #18 John E Wade II’s “The Bipolar Millionaire” returned the charts at #4 thanks to interest in New Orleans. Marie Sontag’s three YA fiction titles “The Bronze Dagger,” “The Alabaster Jar,” and “Rising Hope” were at 5, 7, & 9 on the chart due to invetory purchases for author appearances. Chris Papst’s “Capital Murder” held at #6 as the author appeared on numerous radio programs nationwide. “The Segregated Georgia School for he Deaf,” by professors Ron Knorr and Clemmie Whatley of Mercer University, clung to #8, and continues to sell steadily in Dixie. Keith Rommel nabbed 6 of the top 30 spots with “The Lurking Man” (9), “The Devil Tree II: The Calling” (12), “The Sinful Man” (16), “White River Monster” (23), “The Cursed Man” (26), and “The Devil Tree” (27) primarily due to author appearances at conventions. James Craig Atchison rounded out the top 10 with his debut novel “Blue Lines Up In Arms.” Jess Steven Hughes’ novel “The Wolf of Britannia Part I” moved up to #11 due to author appearances in Washington and Oregon. “Jesus the Phoenician,” Kareem El Koussa’s controversial history of the Son of God, rose to #13 as his US tour ebbed. Alan Mindell’s horse racing novel “The B Team” (#14) perservered thanks to continued interest in the author’s new website and blog and his appearance schedule. Brian Koscienski’s and Chris Pisano’s “The Devil’s Grasp” returned to the chart at #15 due to author appearances at conventions. Lawrence Knorr’s “A Pennsylvania Mennonite and the California Gold Rush” (#17) made another appearance on the chart thanks to large orders from the Golden State. Beth Lancione’s two Solomon Screech Owl books “Galapagos” (#19) and “First Flight” (#20) returned to the chart thanks to planned appearances by her son. Dennis Herrick’s “Winter of the Metal People” held at #21 due to his appearance schedule in New Mexico. Anthony Julian’s “Pit Bulls” continued its streak on the chart at #22. “Freemasons at Gettysburg” by Sheldon Munn seized #24 thanks to orders from gift shops in and around Gettysburg. Mike Campbell’s “Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last” took #25 as interest continues in the lost aviatrix. “Forts, Forests, and Flintlocks,” the most recent volume in John L. Moore’s “Frontier Pennsylvania” series was #28 thanks to regional sales. Judi Markowitz’s medical memoir about her daughter, “The View from Four Foot Two,” returned to the chart at #29. Ernie Marshall’s account of the last conflict between battleships, That Night at Surigao, was #30, thanks to author activity.

The company released eight new titles during the month of October.

SUNBURY PRESS – New Releases for October, 2015

Lady Moguls

William A Cook

Baseball History

White River Monster (combined)

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

The Devil Tree II: The Calling

Keith Rommel

Thriller Fiction

The Keeper of the Crows

Kyle Alexander Romines

Thriller Fiction

Blue Lines Up In Arms

James Craig Atchison

Detective Fiction

The Politics of Prevailing

William Miller

Education

The Penns’ Manor of Spread Eagle and the Grist Mills of the Mahantongo Valley